Marutuk's Gen III Build

Marutuk

KK6WFB
Because my car has had plenty of modifications and it still is a work-in-progress, I decided to start a build thread to consolidate everything.

Some history on the vehicle: The Montero was initially in possession of ImNoSaint who is quite famous for his build thread on his '03. This can be found here and has a ton of information (but do read his blog for details). He sold this to Michel77 in the beginning of 2014. Mid/late 2014 I bought it off Michel and started my journey with it.

Here is a list of things that have been done to the truck, including ImNoSaint's modifications:

  1. Rock Sliders (Rocky Road)
  2. OME HD Suspension
  3. Maxxis Bighorn tires (255/85/16)
  4. Removed 3rd row seats (potentially selling these if there is interest)
  5. Roof mount for Hi-Lift jack
  6. Removed trimming
  7. Custom hood decal
  8. Coated the sides to prevent some pinstriping (needs re-doing)
  9. Extensive rear door modifications allowing for a fold-out table
  10. CB Radio with antenna behind the spare
  11. Installed ARB Front Bumper
  12. Installed snorkel
  13. Moved window washer reservoir to make space for the snorkel
  14. Installed fan shroud
  15. Updated car radio
  16. Replaced brake boost accumulator
  17. Installed HAM Radio
  18. Re-painted roof slats
  19. Installed aftermarket car alarm (as part of troubleshooting car alarm going off randomly, it wasn't the cause)
  20. Replaced car battery
  21. Installed window visors
  22. New tires installed - BFGoodrich KO2s - 285/75/16
  23. New catalytic converters + O2 sensors
  24. Installed a cabin air filter (as detailed in this thread
  25. Installed a light bar on the front bumper (replacing front spots)
  26. Added extension to the spare tire holder to allow my bigger sized tire to fit
  27. Replaced intake manifold
  28. Install front and rear cameras
  29. Replaced cracked battery clamp-down

Besides that, there was a lot of maintenance done as well, such as fixing an oil leak, issues with the cat and general maintenance needed for a vehicle with 160k+ miles. There were issues with the front driver seat's electrical motor - it stopped moving backwards, so that made it rather awkward. The sun roof also got the usual issue the Gen 3's have, so have to fix that too.

Going forward, I do plan on working further on the car, and I do have a bit of an extensive list of things I would like to do. Some of these will happen sooner rather than later, others may just not happen. Here is that list, in no particular order:

  • Fix sunroof motor so it opens again (had issues previously that ImNoSaint fixed but broke again)
  • Fix seats (leather torn, but also driver seat doesn't move forward/back anymore)
  • Underbody armor (got the ADD skidplate, just need to install it)
  • Replace rear bumper
  • Winch
  • Dual battery setup
  • Permanently mount my 2m/70cm antenna to either the rear or front bumper (to be decided)
  • Move CB antenna for better radiation pattern
  • Change headlights to HIDs or similar
  • Find a decent roof rack and install extra lights on it (this would also take the hi-lift jack and some extras)
  • Front/Rear lockers
  • Rear-door water tank setup next to the door
  • Replace internal light bulbs with LEDs
  • Replace windshield (has a lot of small pitting)
  • Replace seatbelts

Over the coming weeks I'll add the pictures of all the changes/installations to this thread.
 
Last edited:

kins18q

Adventurer
Sweet!

Nice additions to an already awesome Montero. I am in the market for one as well. Will be following your thread.
 

Inyo_man

Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.
It's nice to see this rig is still seeing dirt!

Have a blast!
 

Marutuk

KK6WFB
Ran into an electrical problem the other day, while driving. The car lost all electrical power suddenly a few times (no issues mechanically except that everything appeared to reset), and then refused to start. After jumping the car, all appeared ok again.

Going to get it checked out soon to make sure all is well.
 

Philippp

New member
Still using 40mm spacers and 255/85/16 tires?

Hi Marutuk,

Hope you sorted your electrical problem. Was it battery terminal contact by any chance?

I'm just starting a build on a stock 2004 Gen III Montero limited. I hope to incorporate a lot of what you and Imnosaint have done to your rig. I'm curious about whether you are still running the 255/85/16 tires with the 40mm spacers, and whether you have had any problems? Some people maintain that spacers increase stress to the CV joints, bearings, and suspension. Have you had any problems with this?
 

Marutuk

KK6WFB
Hi Marutuk,

Hope you sorted your electrical problem. Was it battery terminal contact by any chance?

I'm just starting a build on a stock 2004 Gen III Montero limited. I hope to incorporate a lot of what you and Imnosaint have done to your rig. I'm curious about whether you are still running the 255/85/16 tires with the 40mm spacers, and whether you have had any problems? Some people maintain that spacers increase stress to the CV joints, bearings, and suspension. Have you had any problems with this?
The electrical issues appear to have disappeared after redoing some connectors and such, but still keeping an eye on things. I have to do some more work on the radios and such soon, so will revisit some things there.

As for tires, I am still running 255/85/16 and had no issues whatsoever, I do enjoy these size of tires quite a bit. I did have to replace my CV joints as the boots were cracked, but that may have just been regular wear and tear.

That being said, I will likely swap away from these tires as I do find them a bit noisy to drive, and with the limited selection available at this size, I may just switch to AT tires (like the KO2 or so) once my current ones are worn out :)
 

Inyo_man

Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.
I will likely swap away from these tires as I do find them a bit noisy to drive, and with the limited selection available at this size, I may just switch to AT tires (like the KO2 or so) once my current ones are worn out :)

If you're interested in a AT/MT hybrid, be sure to check out the Cooper ST/Maxx.
They have been an excellent tire.
 

Marutuk

KK6WFB
Yeah I am looking at the ST/Maxx as well - I am a little bit wary of the noise, but then again, with a glass pack muffler on my '03, tire noise is not the biggest concern ;)
 

Schitzangiggles

King of Macastan
Marutuk you will find that your switch for your seat is what is causing the issues you are having not wanting to reverse. Under the knob there is a single acting switch that has an interface with the knob that has popped out of adjustment because it has worn down enough to allow the plastic pin to pop out of the socket it rides in. I had to put screws into the housing to keep it close enough to reliably engage. If you pop the switch plate out of the seat trim and get the knob off you will see the pins/switches and if you leave it plugged in you can move the seat by moving the pin.

I'd show you with some pics but nearly a month ago I let my local high school automotive shop class work on it to do some PMCS to it as they had never seen a montero and wanted to get some experience with higher performance Japanese vehicles.... lol
I was supposed to have it on Monday, I guess I should have clarified which Monday.
 

Marutuk

KK6WFB
Marutuk you will find that your switch for your seat is what is causing the issues you are having not wanting to reverse. Under the knob there is a single acting switch that has an interface with the knob that has popped out of adjustment because it has worn down enough to allow the plastic pin to pop out of the socket it rides in. I had to put screws into the housing to keep it close enough to reliably engage. If you pop the switch plate out of the seat trim and get the knob off you will see the pins/switches and if you leave it plugged in you can move the seat by moving the pin.

I'd show you with some pics but nearly a month ago I let my local high school automotive shop class work on it to do some PMCS to it as they had never seen a montero and wanted to get some experience with higher performance Japanese vehicles.... lol
I was supposed to have it on Monday, I guess I should have clarified which Monday.

Thanks, looking forward to that. Curious to see if it can be fixed, as for now I got it disabled (not an issue for me, but my fiancee needs a pillow to drive my car ;) )
 

Marutuk

KK6WFB
Had to replace my battery, it was pretty much dying. Got an AGM one from O'Reilly's, so far it seems to be doing well.
 

Marutuk

KK6WFB
Forgot to update on my car alarm issues - after trying many things (including going for an aftermarket alarm), it turned out the culprit was a door sensor that did not like temperature changes. The fix was just some extra padding to make certain the button remained pressed regardless. Sometimes fixes are simple :p

Also got some window visors coming in (@Igorskiy86 referred me to WellVisors, thanks!) so will mount those when they get in.

Next up is getting rid of the P0431 error code and pass smog and replace my soon-to-be-slicks tires.
 

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